fringe recapping: the boy must live

There are only two episodes left of my beloved show, and they both air tonight. I don’t know how I feel about that. Well, actually, I know exactly how I feel. I’m devastated, and wish that this day would never end. I do not at all want this series to be ending, and I think I will be a sad and mopey for the rest of the weekend—if not the rest of the month.

This season has had its ups and downs, but, overall, it’s been pretty decent. The Boy Must Live was a good episode. Sure, there were problems, and many people didn’t like it. At this point, I don’t really care about the plot holes and inaccuracies—to a certain extent. The plot moved along quite nicely, and it did a nice job setting up the finale, so I’m pretty happy.

Walter goes into the magical mind tank, which Olivia went into in Episode One. He discovers where September/Donald lived 20 years ago—and Donald just happens to still be living there.

Donald reveals that he is Michael’s father; that he was the one who put Michael into the underground cave in the original timeline to protect him. Michael is considered an anomaly because he can feel emotions—he is a hybrid of sorts. Donald appears to be human, because the Observers removed his device and tested on him, removing all “Observer” traits.

Then they’re off to find Observer tech September’s hidden away. September goes off to find more gear, and Team Etta—sans Astrid, of course—along with Michael are off. However, Observers have found Septembers house, and their car is compromised. They get on the train, and right as the train is about to depart, Michael steps off and is intentionally captured by the Observers.

While this was an excellent set up for the finale, there were also a lot of problems. It was quite clear that Michael’s intention was to step off the train. In my opinion, Team Etta has more important things to do than try and rescue a boy who wanted to be taken hostage.

As much as I love September, there were huge problems with just about everything he said this episode. Of course, some of it was just facts or history-to-come that didn’t make any sense. Actually, there were a lot of things—many unrelated to poor September—that I did not like or thought did not make sense. How did he know Michael was his son? Why did he leave him underground—was that really the best alternative he could come up with? I’m exceptionally horrible at math, but I think if there’s a 99.9999% chance something will happen, it’s highly unlikely this will be proven wrong twice. To the same person. I’m also still not happy with the idea that the only thing that separates humans and Observers are these needle-like devices, which we never learned about until Peter stuck one in his brain. Walter’s memory—or lack thereof—seems a little bit too convenient. And how is it that Windmark is suddenly feeling emotion? What is that supposed to prove? In addition, what is the Observers’ relation with the Alternate World? And if Bolivia recognizes Olivia, does that mean we have returned to the original timeline?! I hope so!

In addition, I think no one was happy with the very unexpected twist that “the boy must live” referred to Michael, not Peter. First of all, no. Second of all, that makes no sense! Why would September have said that right after pulling Peter from the frozen lake?

Of course, there were also things I loved about this episode:

Donald’s name—deriving from Donald O’Conner, one of the main stars of Singing in the Rain, the first film September and Walter had ever watched together.

The references to the “original 12” Observers, who include September, August, and December—the Observers from previous seasons.

I also loved the recurrence of the White Tulip, which is uncontested by all as one of the best stand-along episodes of the series.

And we cannot forget the best quote of the night. Delivered by Walter, of course. He talks privately to September and reveals that Michael has showed him he will have to sacrifice himself for the plan.

“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t frightened. Do you think that the boy showed me all these other experiences, because he wanted me to know that I have loved, that I have had incredible moments and connections? Because… because it will make it easier for me to come to terms with what I have to do? You think that’s why he did it?”

It’s a line that you can easily imagine Walter saying; however, it’s also a line that seems to be talking to the Fringe fans. This quote is my favorite of this entire season, and it helps me believe that the ending, while maybe not “happily ever after,” will end in a way that satisfies fans.

“Because I look at Fringe and all I see is a cult classic in the making. Even if the finale manages to disappoint us later this week, I still think Fringe will be one of those shows that will pick up steam only after it finishes its run, ala Arrested Development or Firefly. Fans like us know the show is great, and will be sharing it with non-fans as much as we can. And then when they finish it, they will share it with non-fans, and then those people will share it with non-fans and so on and so on. Right now, Fringe may not be considered one of the best sci-fi shows ever made by the general populace. But give it some time. Because one day…it will be.”

And here is the promo for tonight’s two-part finale. It’s interesting to note that they have their own titles, instead of naming it simply Part One and Part Two, as previously done. It’s also interesting to note that THE PARALLEL WORLD IS BACK!!! We’ve got our Broyles, Bolivia and Lincoln! So excited.

Emily enjoys all mediums of speculative fiction, fantasy, and sci-fi–especially reading, writing, and watching them. A Fringe fanatic, she is convinced that one day she will meet her parallel self, aptly nicknamed Femily (Fake Emily), and save both worlds from their inevitable destruction.